Throwing a party is lots of fun, but it’s rarely cheap. By the time you buy food, drinks, decorations and party favors, there might not be much money left over for anything else. But what about invitations? If you don’t invite anyone, there’s not much point in having a party.
You could order custom invitations, but that’s rather expensive. You could buy a pack of invitations from the store, but that’s not very original. Or you could save yourself some money and have unique invitations by making them yourself.
You can create invitations in no time with a computer and printer. Or if you want to make your invitations extra special, you could make them by hand. Here are some ideas to get your started.
* Look for free invitation designs that you can print online. There are many websites that feature free invitation and greeting card designs as a means of attracting visitors. Just do a Google search, and you’re sure to find several to choose from.
* Invest in some greeting card software. Companies like Hallmark and ArcSoft produce software that features lots of beautiful designs for invitations and other types of greeting cards. You can customize the ready-made designs or create more unique invitations using the templates and clip art provided. These programs require you to pay an up-front cost, but after using them a few times they will pay for themselves.
* If you’re artistically inclined, you could draw or paint the designs for your invitations by hand. Such a work of art is sure to put a smile on your guests’ faces.
* Use scrapbooking techniques to make invitations by hand. With some card stock and embellishments such as stickers, ribbons, lace and die cuts, the possibilities are endless. You could also use decorative hole punchers, embossers and pinking shears to add an extra special touch.
* Add beauty to any handmade card with pressed flowers. You don’t need any special equipment to press your own flowers. Just place them between two pieces of wax paper and insert them in the middle of a heavy book for a couple of weeks. If you’re in a hurry, you can dry them in the oven or microwave or buy flowers that have already been pressed at your favorite craft supply store.
Creating your own party invitations doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be as simple as choosing a design and clicking the print button. And if you want to make your invitations more memorable, there are all sorts of ways you can embellish them. Either way you go, you’ll have unique invitations for less than you would pay to have them printed by a professional.
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A new year is certainly something to celebrate. Yet New Year’s Eve parties have become much more scarce than they once were. It’s a safe bet that one of the biggest reasons for this trend is our shrinking budgets.
What many people do not realize is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to ring in the New Year properly. As long as your friends and family are there, you can always have a good time even without going to a great deal of expense. Here’s how.
* Host the party at your house if possible. If you do not have enough space, ask a friend or family member if you could have the party at their house. Renting a space can be expensive, especially on an occasion like New Year’s Eve.
* Plan your party for late evening. Everyone will probably be staying past midnight anyway, so there’s no need to get started early. If you have the party late, it will give everyone the opportunity to eat dinner before they show up, so you won’t be expected to provide a full meal. Instead, you can just serve some tasty finger foods. But just to be sure everyone knows what to expect, indicate on the invitations that you will be serving refreshments only.
* If you really want to have a meal, make it a potluck. Have each guest bring a dish, and even a drink if you like. You can supply the paper plates, cups, flatware and napkins.
* Don’t feel obligated to have a full bar. You can have a fun party without stocking every type of liquor. You could serve champagne punch or beer as an alternative, or make it an alcohol-free party if you like.
* Keep the decorations simple and inexpensive. Strings of white Christmas lights make great decorations indoors or out. For a centerpiece, gather some branches and pine cones and arrange them in the center of the table. For added flair, spray paint them silver or gold.
* Skip hiring a band to play at your party and make a nice mix CD for the occasion. Or if you have friends that play, ask them to bring their instruments along and have an impromptu jam session.
* Go with cheap entertainment. Borrow movies from the library for a movie marathon, or have guests bring board games that everyone can play. Or break out the cards and chips and have a poker night.
Who said celebrating the New Year required an all-out extravaganza? The point of a New Year’s Eve party is to have fun with the people who mean the most to us. And you don’t have to break the bank to do that.
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When you are planning a party at your home, you will find that it always seems like no matter how much you clean, or how much you organize; there is always more which you could do. The key to effectively preparing your home to host a party is cleaning and de-cluttering some very vital areas. You should understand that as long as those areas care clean and clutter-free, then your guests will feel comfortable and welcome in your home.
However, even the most seasoned hostess can be intimidated by trying to prepare their home for guests. So, for that reason, here are some tips from professional cleaners and organizers on how you can best prepare your home to host your party:
Tip #1 – Take a look around your home in a quick sweep and decide what you need to do. Take along a pen and paper and make notes for each room of your home. You will want a closet for your guests to hang their coats in and a place to store women’s purses. While you are doing your home walk-through decide where these two locations will be and write them down.
Tip #2 – The first place you will want to start cleaning and tidying up is the entry area of your home, and then work from there cleaning the living room, bathroom, and kitchen areas. In addition, if there are other areas in your home where your guests will be, perhaps a game room or similar, that area will need a good cleaning and de-cluttering as well.
Tip #3 - While everyone has some clutter which they treasure; understand that clutter can give an even spotless home the appearance of being messy and unclean. You want your guests to be able to move freely in your home and not be knocking things off of tables or shelves. When you are cleaning for a party be brutal and get rid of as much clutter as you can bear – even if you just simply box it and place it in the garage for the night.
Tip #4 – If you have a spouse and family, now is the time to enlist them to help you in cleaning and de-cluttering your home. You can easily assign a room to each person and have them be responsible for cleaning and removing anything in the room which does not absolutely need to be there for the party.
Tip #5 - If you have children with messy rooms, but are having an all-adult party, it is fine to simply close your children’s bedroom doors and not make a big deal about them cleaning their rooms for the party. This can greatly relieve your stress pre-party. In essence, stick to cleaning rooms which you absolutely must clean because guests will be in them.
Tip #6 – If your party is informal, consider using casual serving dishes and casual eatery as well. You may even want to purchase some good quality paper plates for the event if it will be a pot-luck or BBQ type event, rather than a sit-down meal.
Tip #7 - It is important for you to know that where there are people with food and drinks, there will be spills and stains. The easiest way to deal with these issues is to be completely prepared to deal with them before they ever happen. Have a small box with cleaning supplies which you can use to clean up any messes which might occur during the party.
Tip #8 – Once your home is clean and clutter-free, then it is time to go around your home and add back some small, personal touches which make your home comfortable and inviting for your guests. You can accomplish this through the use of flowers, photographs of your family, and candles. To deal with any musty odors your home may have, you can burn candles or simmer cinnamon and cloves on the stove.
Tip #9 – Once your home has been prepared and you have a back-up plan to deal with any unforeseen stains or spills, then it is time for you as the hostess to sit back and enjoy your party.
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New Year’s Eve brings to mind glasses of champagne clinking together as the clock strikes midnight. While champagne is fine for adults, it isn’t appropriate for everyone. Here are ten drink ideas the whole family will love this New Year’s Eve.
1. For those who want the sensation of champagne, you should be able to find sparkling grape juice at nearly every grocery or discount food store. You can also make your own by combining white grape juice with ginger ale.
2. If you’re having a Hawaiian or luau themed party, you’ll want a tropical style drink that everyone can enjoy. Try an Island Dream. This drink is made by combining crushed ice, orange juice, pineapple juice, and Sprite. Don’t forget the umbrella to finish this drink off.
3. Another tropical cocktail that the whole family can enjoy is the orange burst cocktail. This is made by combining orange juice, Sprite, and grenadine syrup with crushed ice. Your children are sure to love this one.
4. Strawberry limeades are popular at some fast food restaurants. These would be a great alternative to alcoholic drinks. Of course, with this recipe requiring limes and strawberries, you may have to do some searching to find the ingredients.
5. New Year’s Eve punch is another great alternative to champagne. It is made with several different juices, fruit cocktail, sherbet, and sparkling grape juice.
6. Snowbird Mocktails are delicious. They’re made with pineapple juice, sweetened condensed milk, orange juice, coconut extract, and ginger ale. One of the nice things about this drink is that it keeps for up to one week.
7. Non-alcoholic (or virgin) margaritas are a popular drink and would be the perfect choice if you’re having a Mexican themed New Year’s Eve party. They could also be used for a winter beach party theme.
8. Another summertime drink that would be appropriate for New Year’s Eve is a virgin strawberry daiquiri. Strawberry daiquiri mix is added to Sprite and ice. To make the drink more festive, put fresh fruit on a plastic sword and put that in the drink.
9. If it’s really cold outside, it’s quite possible your guests would prefer something hot to drink instead. Hot spiced punch may be appreciated. It is made with pineapple juice, cranberry juice, all spice, cloves, cinnamon, water, and brown sugar.
10. Spiced punch may not appeal to you, but hot mulled cider may be just the thing. Similar to the spiced punch, hot mulled cider has all spice, cinnamon, and cloves. The main ingredient, however, is apple cider, which makes the taste different.
Everyone wants to enjoy a New Year’s Eve party, but it doesn’t have to include alcohol. By having non-alcoholic drinks at your party, these ten drink ideas are something the whole family will love.
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